


roads less traveled

by MollyRenata



Series: the sun, the moon, the fool and the lovers [8]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Anxiety, Beach Episode, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Scars, Sort Of, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27930298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyRenata/pseuds/MollyRenata
Summary: Sho is insecure about his body.
Relationships: Minazuki Sho/Narukami Yu/Kujikawa Rise
Series: the sun, the moon, the fool and the lovers [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1937416
Kudos: 5





	roads less traveled

**Author's Note:**

> Kind of a silly little idea that popped into my head, so I decided to write it down. This is loosely connected to the continuity of "break out of your head", and I'd say it takes place at some point after the epilogue.

* * *

Though the scar on his face was by far the most prominent, Sho bore the marks of his history all across his body. When he was out in public, he always wore clothing that covered as many of those scars as possible, and this meant that he was often overdressed during the summer; fortunately, he had high heat tolerance, and it only bothered him on the hottest of days.

Sho would much rather endure the heat than let people see his scars, though. He already got enough funny looks for the one on his face, which he couldn't reasonably cover up; he didn't _want_ to imagine what everyone would think if they saw how many he had at his age. This was why, when Rise asked him to come to the beach with her and wear a swimsuit, he rejected the request with more force than he'd _ever_ used with her.

Sure, a swimsuit would cover the most _important_ bits, and she'd seen his scars more times than he could count - but if he just _went with it,_ he'd be exposed to the world, and the mere _thought_ made him sick with anxiety. It wasn't even that he didn't want to go swimming - hell, _that_ part sounded pretty awesome - but he wasn't going to risk catching the attention of everyone in the country just for _that._

How would he explain what had happened to him? How many people would ask? How many others would just stare and come up with their own stupid theories? Was it even _safe_ for him to be out in the open like that, where the authorities he'd evaded for so long could capture him?

Two days after she made the initial request, Rise got a swimsuit for Sho, and had him try it on. It... wasn't _bad,_ he supposed, but it left _far_ too much of his skin exposed, and there was no way in _hell_ he would go out in _public_ looking like this. The questions from before ran through his mind at a blinding pace, and he _almost_ succumbed to a panic attack - but then she kissed him and reassured him that everything would be _just fine,_ and like the complete idiot that he was, he _believed_ her.

The weather wasn't the best for visiting the beach that day, so they waited until the sun came out the next day, and then Yu joined them on their trip. It was early when they arrived, and not many people were at the beach; Rise had claimed that this was the best time, for Sho's sake, but he worried that things were going to get a _lot_ worse.

For a while, he just laid down on the sand and watched the sky while Rise slathered sunscreen all over him. A couple of people came by, but they were all more interested in Rise than Sho; Yu had gone off to do his own thing, whatever _that_ was, and by some streak of awful luck, the _other_ former members of the Investigation Team dropped by as well - though they steered clear of Sho once they saw him there.

That didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Sho chose not to think too hard about it. Maybe Rise had told them that he didn't want to be bothered during this trip...

Once Rise successfully deflected all of her fans, she laid down beside her lover, and placed her hand over his. Sho peered over at her as she stroked the back of his hand with a finger, a gentle and soothing gesture that she had practiced with him several times before.

"...I'm sorry for making you do this," she told him, in a voice so quiet that he might not have heard if he wasn't paying attention. "I know it made you uncomfortable, and..."

"You meant well, I know that." Sho breathed a heavy sigh, and returned to staring at the sky. "Just... what the hell am I supposed to say if someone asks where I got all these from? I can't just tell everyone I was a Kirijo test subject. They'd think I'm even _crazier_ for that."

"You can say that you got into a car accident," Rise suggested. "Those can leave some nasty cuts, and it'd also explain the medical scars..." She eyed the scar over his heart. "...You aren't the only person out there with scars, Sho-kun. Some of them are just as insecure as you, too."

"A car accident..." Sho considered this for a moment, and then turned his attention to his other half. "Whaddya think?"

 _'It seems a reasonable explanation,'_ Minazuki told him in response. _'...It would be a lie, of course, though as you already said, I doubt most would accept the truth. Reducing the level of scrutiny you suffer is more important, I'd say.'_

"Alright, it's settled." Sho turned to Rise again. "What about the whole _talking to myself_ thing?"

"Don't do it too loud," Rise advised, and she offered him a sweet smile. "Though, again, you aren't the only person who does that. I've done it a few times, and I don't even have another person inside me to talk to."

Well, _that_ helped Sho relax a bit. He was still tense, and he doubted that would ever go away; however, with a false explanation for the scars and a bit of sound reasoning for his chats with Minazuki, he didn't have to worry as much about the prying eyes and ears of strangers - though that didn't stop him from clenching his jaw when he caught a couple of bystanders staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"...It's okay." Rise climbed atop Sho, much to his surprise; she leaned against him, and her weight - comforting as always - distracted him from the people watching him. "Don't worry about them."

After a moment, she pulled herself up, and began tracing the marks on his body with her finger. This was something she'd done a few times before, though the context was usually more intimate; they couldn't do _that_ out here, but the memories of his clandestine exchanges with her flashed through his head regardless, and he shivered beneath her soft touch. Even in _this_ situation, it felt nice, and before long, his anxiety had all but melted away.

"Better?" Rise asked, tilting her head at him, and with her hair outlined by the light of the sun, she looked more beautiful than ever before. Sho gave a simple nod in response, then shifted himself out from under her, leaving her on the ground beneath them - now that he'd calmed down, there were _better_ things to do than lay around and sunbathe.

"I think I need some _salt,_ " Sho remarked, as he pulled himself into a standing position. "Wouldn't wanna _run dry,_ am I right?"

"That... that isn't how it works," Rise said, sounding absolutely baffled, as she stared up at him. "Salt dries you out, not..." She breathed a sigh. "Never mind."

"Whatever." Sho waved a hand, dismissive. "Let's catch a few _waves,_ yeah? Maybe I'll _wave_ back!"

"Your jokes are getting worse." That was Yu - he'd returned from wherever he got himself to, and looked rather amused, despite his words. "...Do you know how to swim? If you don't, I can teach you."

Sho thought back to his numerous combat lessons; not many of them involved _water,_ but he'd been taught the fundamentals, just in case there was a situation where he needed to know. "S'been a while... I'm probably rusty as hell, but I can swim. Prop me up, will ya?"

"I'll keep you from drowning." Yu spoke with a completely straight face, but it was a joke - Sho could tell, as he'd gotten used to Yu's unique brand of humor. "Don't push yourself, alright? Swimming in the ocean is different from swimming in a pool. Stay close to shore, and follow my directions."

"Sure, I'll follow your lead." A grin crossed Sho's face. "... _Leader man._ "

Yu took Sho's hand in his own, and led him into the water; as the cool touch of the ocean wrapped around his bare feet, Sho thought to himself that maybe the beach _wasn't_ so bad, after all.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if it was ever detailed in Sho's backstory anywhere (it probably wasn't), but it just seems like common sense to give someone swimming lessons as part of combat training. Maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?


End file.
